Letter: There's no evidence of a real 'war' on Christmas

It seems there are some who believe that wishing people “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” at this time of year undermines the “serious” — make that “religious” — observance of Christmas which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

Just because I am Jewish does not mean I do not appreciate the celebration of Christmas, whether as a secular or religious Christian holiday.

When I was growing up, Hanukkah was barely a blip on the Jewish calendar and rarely observed. Whose parents had spare pennies anyway — real or chocolate?

I never yearned to observe Christmas, accepting that it was not mine to own. Furthermore, no matter how much you dress up Hanukkah so that Jewish children can enjoy decorations, parties, presents, potato pancakes (“latkes”) and lighting the menorah for a bountiful eight nights, the truth is that Hanukkah cannot “hold a candle” — pun intended — to Christmas.

As for me, I have always enjoyed watching others celebrate Christmas. I genuinely love the good will in abundance, even among strangers; the joy of my Christian friends and neighbors caught up in decorating, both indoors and out, and in gift-giving as well as gift-receiving; and the colorful decorations dispelling the usual blandness of our downtown light posts and shop windows.

As for the ubiquitous Christmas carols, I enjoy singing along with them. I know the words well — even the 11 verses that follow “a partridge in a pear tree” — from my years of singing them in public school.

I attended Fairfax High School (in the 1940s it was Los Angeles’ “Jewish” high school), where at least 95 percent of the student body was Jewish while more than 95 percent of the staff was not. Our student choral groups traversed the halls singing “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls,” even “Silent Night” and “The First Noel.”

I can still recite Clement Clarke Moore’s delightful poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and love finding it creatively illustrated anew in recent editions.

Of course, I remember vividly putting my young son and daughter to sleep to the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite.”

For these many reasons, I find it difficult to accept that because shopkeepers and sales clerks wish us “Happy Holidays,” there is a “war” on Christmas.

As far and wide as I can see, even through the dense fog of our current economic crisis, I am hopeful of better days to come.

The beautiful holiday that is Christmas — whether we are being wished “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” — is here to stay.

Finally, allow me to cheer you with a wholehearted “Merry Christmas,” while wishing a “Happy Hanukkah,” “Bright and Shining Kwanzaa,” or “Wonderful Winter Solstice.”